mv

Syntax:

Options:

-f

Force an overwrite; don't prompt for confirmation if the destination
path exists. Overwrite even read-only files.

-i

Run interactively; write a prompt to the standard error output before
moving any file that would overwrite an existing file. If confirmation
is received, overwrite the existing file. Otherwise, go on to the next
file.

-V

(BlackBerry PlayBook OS extension) Be very verbose.

-v

(BlackBerry PlayBook OS extension) Be verbose.

source_file

The pathname of a file or directory to be moved.

target_file

The new pathname of the file or directory to be moved.

target_dir

The pathname of an existing directory that the source file is to move to.

Description:

The mv command has two syntax forms:

mv [-f|-i] [-v|-V] source_filetarget_file

The mv utility moves
source_file to the destination specified by
target_file. This first syntax form is
assumed when the final operand you specify doesn't name an existing
directory.

mv [-f|-i] [-v|-V] source_file... target_dir

The mv utility moves each source_file file
to a destination file in the
directory named by target_dir. The
destination's filename under the target directory is the same as
its basename (final path component).

For example:

mv dir/dir/myfile /existingdir

moves dir/dir/myfile to
existingdir/myfile.

This second syntax form is assumed when either the destination names
an existing directory, or when more than one source file is specified.

By default, mv overwrites an existing file without warning or
confirmation whenever you have write permission on the file.

The mv utility asks you for confirmation if the following conditions
are met:

you haven't specified the -f option

you lack write permission

the standard input is a terminal

Upon receiving confirmation, mv overwrites the target
file. It can do this only if you own the file or you're a superuser.

If you want mv to request confirmation before overwriting
any file, specify the -i (interactive) option. If you
want mv to overwrite whenever possible without asking
for confirmation, specify the -f (force) option.

As long as the input files specified by each source_file
are on the same device as the target, the source_file
operand can be of any file type. If the source and target reside on different
devices, the source_file is copied to the target
and then removed. If the source_file is a directory,
this means that any FIFO or character special files under the
original directory aren't copied. Since the copy isn't 100%
successful, the original source_file isn't
removed.

Examples:

In the current directory, rename the file orange
to banana.

mv orange banana

Exit status:

0

All input files were moved successfully.

>0

An error occurred.

Caveats:

If the copying of a directory is prematurely terminated by a signal or
error, mv may leave a partial copy of the directory at the
destination. In this case, the directory tree at
source_file isn't modified.

When the source_file and target_file
are on different filesystems (i.e. not on the same mounted partition), the mv
utility spawns the cp
utility to copy the
file(s), and if the cp succeeds, spawns
the rm utility to remove
the originals.